With Aaron Rodgers trade speculation mounting and growing sentiment Tom Brady’s “retirement” may be a hollow sham, the NFL offseason is off to a roaring start with no shortage of intrigue heading into free agency. As if the latest Rodgers gossip and Russell Wilson trade rumors weren’t enough to keep us glued to Adam Schefter’s Twitter account, the drama is two-fold with a media arms race unfolding before our eyes. Between the budding Al Michaels Sweepstakes and Troy Aikman’s reported defection to ESPN, the game of musical chairs is already well underway with an unprecedented shakeup expected in this year’s broadcast ranks. With Aikman’s seat open, who will Fox tap as Joe Buck’s new partner in crime? Here are five candidates worth considering.
Mina Kimes
There’s an equally compelling case to be made for Dan Orlovsky, another promising up-and-comer destined for media stardom (if he hasn’t achieved that already), but of all of ESPN’s recent discoveries, Mina Kimes may be the most talented. It would take a leap of faith—and probably an obscene amount of money to pry her away from Bristol—but Kimes would be a monster get if Fox could pull it off. Not only is Kimes objectively brilliant, but she’s also hugely entertaining (as anyone who’s ever watched her on The Dan Le Batard Show could attest) and, as a Korean American with an Ivy League background, would bring diversity and a fresh perspective to a Fox broadcast booth traditionally occupied by ex-jocks. Though she’s never played a down of football at any level—a shortcoming some may see as disqualifying—Kimes’ knowledge and insight are second to none. Kimes has covered games locally in recent years, contributing to Rams preseason coverage alongside NFL Network anchor Andrew Siciliano and five-time Pro Bowler Aqib Talib.
Peyton or Eli Manning
The sense around football is that if either of the Manning siblings wanted a full-time broadcast gig, they would already have it. The Manning Cast, though admittedly raw with frequent technical glitches and production snafus, had its charms, churning out viral moments on a near weekly basis last season. That laidback formula with guests doing most of the heavy lifting may be more the Mannings’ speed with both reluctant to commit to a full complement of games (they worked just 10 of 18 regular season weeks in 2021). It’s also likely that if Peyton and Eli were to make that transition, they would probably prefer to stay under the ESPN umbrella rather than flock to a competitor like Fox or NBC. Still, the Manning name carries enormous weight and with so much money being poured into sports media (CBS is paying Tony Romo upwards of $18 million annually), Fox could entice the Mannings with a godfather offer well into eight figures. Of course, if Fox had that kind of dough to throw around, wouldn’t they have just re-upped with Aikman?
Sean McVay
McVay has remained noncommittal about his plans for 2022 (though he may have tipped his hand at the Rams’ victory parade by joining in Aaron Donald’s “Run it back!” chant), only offering a vague “We’ll see” when grilled by the Los Angeles Times. McVay’s coaching career is far from over, but if he’s ready for a well-deserved hiatus (the 36-year-old implied he wants to start a family with fiancée Veronica Khomyn), sharing the booth with Buck would be a nice way to unwind after years of burning the candle at both ends. A football savant with an identic memory (McVay’s recall of plays from years earlier is the ultimate parlor trick), McVay has both the energy and confidence to be a valuable addition to any announcing team he joins. It would also make sense financially with McVay likely to earn just as much—if not more—covering a game or two a week than he would coaching. If McVay does pursue color commentating, he won’t come cheap with Amazon already targeting the spiky-haired phenom for their Thursday night broadcasts.
Greg Olsen
Of Fox’s current in-house options, the former Bears and Panthers tight end is easily the most qualified, showing a combination of likeability and poise rare of rookie broadcasters. Higher-ups may be tempted to keep the Olsen/Kevin Burkhardt duo intact after it worked so well in 2021, though if Fox deems Olsen worthy of promotion after an encouraging debut season, perhaps they’d consider pairing him with Buck. Regardless of how Fox chooses to fill the void left by Aikman, who had been with the network since 2001, Olsen would appear to have a bright career ahead of him as a lead analyst.
Sean Payton
Payton’s stunning departure from New Orleans this offseason may have been made with an eye toward eventually coaching his beloved Cowboys (he first rose to prominence as an assistant under Bill Parcells in the early 2000s). But while he waits that situation out (many see Mike McCarthy as a goner if Dallas fails to make a deep postseason run in 2022), the former Saints coach could bide his time on television, spending his Sundays with Buck until a better job opens up. Payton’s skill level in this regard is truly anyone’s guess, not that that matters much in today’s media climate, where celebrity and name recognition tend to outweigh any perceived lack of polish a sports personality may have. Ironically enough, Payton could face competition from his prized pupil Drew Brees, who has also emerged as a candidate to replace Aikman. With Cris Collinsworth expected to man the booth with Mike Tirico going forward, Brees may see Fox as a path to more airtime after mostly serving as a studio analyst for NBC last season.
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